Reinhart: keep him up or send him down?

[Chad Thundercock]

Send him down. He seems not ready to compete against men just yet. Soon enough, there's no need to rush him.

 

[tsujimoto74]

Maybe. Conversely I don't see a good reason to send him back though.

Agree. The #1 question for me is what does he stand to gain from the CHL? And, in my mind, the answer is very little. I don't think there's anything wrong with him not being a world-beater right out of the gate. If he can average 3rd line ES minutes in Buffalo, with PP/PK time as he earns it (scratches/demotions/promotions as he earns them too), I think we'll see him learn a ton from that experience. I'd like them to loan him out to the WJCs still, but I'd rather he be kept up. It just seems like there's so much more for him to gain by being here than by not.

 

[Bobby Bottle Service]

Voted stay. I'm selfish and want to see him play... But please send him to the world juniors!

 

[Crazy Tasty]

No need to burn an ELC year on this garbage, especially once the NHL pace catches up to him later on in the year

I agree on both of these points, as well as just separating him from the constant losing that is going to happen.

 

[Russ Tyler]

Send him down, without question.

I think TM will not want to risk keeping him here. I think he is more a traditionalist. For example if he turns out to be a bust and they went against the norm by keeping him up on the 4th line before he was really shining in the NHL.

I believe he still can develop a lot in the WHL, and have some fun! He's not going to have any fun playing for the Sabres this year.

 

[Shoey]

keep him in Buffalo and keep bringing him along slowly. I think he's a kid that would greatly benefit from NHL workouts and practices. I'm not worried about the between the ears improvement with this kid, and thus I don't see a great benefit in sending him across the continent.

If he's here the Sabres can focus on his physical development in a way that's impossible in B.C.

sending him to Kootenay wouldn't be some great shame either, I just think Reinhart is a special case where he'll be best suited to learn here. He seems incredibly mature and unlikely to rock the boat, and every indication I'm getting is that his teammates don't seem to harbor any resentment towards him. I think he gets better no matter what the Sabres do, but my gut feeling is he improves faster in the NHL.

 

[jvirk]

Only problem I have w/ sending him down is I honestly don't know how much more he can do in juniors. He's too smart and too good for that level of play. He needs to be up here in Buffalo using these facilities, being with these professionals on a daily basis, growing as a player on and off the ice here in Buffalo. Obviously we stink beyond belief, but having him play some sheltered minutes and getting him more comfortable to the play here might not be so bad of an idea.

Obviously I hate that he's playing on the 4th line, but maybe they progress him along slowly and when half of the season is done with he'll possibly move up to the 3rd line and slowly get him more and more minutes.

 

[jvirk]

quick question! If he goes down...does that mean Grigorenko is coming up?

I'd hate for Grigo to be on the 4th line as a Center....that would be stupid beyond belief by this organization.

 

[Sabresfansince1980]

quick question! If he goes down...does that mean Grigorenko is coming up?

I'd hate for Grigo to be on the 4th line as a Center....that would be stupid beyond belief by this organization.

If Grigorenko was called up he would easily handle the 3rd C position, but I think due to contract issues he won't get called up until after game #40 or so.

 

[Ruckus007]

quick question! If he goes down...does that mean Grigorenko is coming up?

I'd hate for Grigo to be on the 4th line as a Center....that would be stupid beyond belief by this organization.

Possible (though they can put Deslauriers-McCormick-Mitchell on the 4th line and play Grigorenko in the "Top 9"), or Larsson.

And they'll have to deal with Kaleta pretty soon as well.

 

[Paxon]

quick question! If he goes down...does that mean Grigorenko is coming up?

I'd hate for Grigo to be on the 4th line as a Center....that would be stupid beyond belief by this organization.

Probably Schaller or Larsson come up. I think that makes the most sense right now, let Carrier-Grigorenko-Armia continue to improve as a line in Rochester. I'd say maybe by the halfway point then Grigorenko or Armia can come up if they deserve it. For now, let them develop.

Larsson and Schaller bring all-around game. Neither would be wasted on the 4th line, but could earn Nolan's trust to play on the third.

Edit: Forgot Kaleta is coming back.

 

[truthbluth]

Not sure why I will continue to watch these games if/when SR goes down. I guess it'll be fun to watch Myers blossom into the player that we thought he was going to be, all while hand wringing about him getting traded for futures. Of the current Sabres (assuming SR does not count), I want to see Myers, Risto, Girgensons and Foligno succeed. I don't actually give a damn about the rest of them on an individual basis.

 

[TehDoak]

Sadly, I think Reinhart (and to some extent Zadorov) became victim of Nolan's believing that if he gives young guys more chances because of their draft position, etc, he's doing a disservice to the team.

Ted Nolan's place is on a team with a bunch of marginal veteran guys whose owners are trying to spend as little as possible. Not on a team who is trying to actively develop, train, and foster a youth movement.

When your team gets shutout 4 out of 6 games...it's time to give the kids a fair shot with quality linemates. And when you have players playing as bad and Benoit and Strachan, it's time to give Zadorov more than a 7th d-man look.

To sit there and say they haven't "earned it" when the veterans have just been historically awful is an insult to the younger players (and the fans)

I think Reinhart should stay, but Nolan needs to go. He's just not the coach that this team needs right now. He's a bad fit.

 

[zman]

Sadly, I think Reinhart (and to some extent Zadorov) became victim of Nolan's believing that if he gives young guys more chances because of their draft position, etc, he's doing a disservice to the team.

Ted Nolan's place is on a team with a bunch of marginal veteran guys whose owners are trying to spend as little as possible. Not on a team who is trying to actively develop, train, and foster a youth movement.

When your team gets shutout 4 out of 6 games...it's time to give the kids a fair shot with quality linemates. And when you have players playing as bad and Benoit and Strachan, it's time to give Zadorov more than a 7th d-man look.

To sit there and say they haven't "earned it" when the veterans have just been historically awful is an insult to the younger players (and the fans)

I think Reinhart should stay, but Nolan needs to go. He's just not the coach that this team needs right now. He's a bad fit.

I totally agree with this. Nolan is a terrible fit for this club and fans that are blindly loyal to Ted because of the past history are not living in the reality of 2014. The younger players should absolutely be here and developing at the highest level. so when things turn around (hopefully soon) they will be ready and know what to expect and how to prepare. Teddy preaches working hard which is fine, but he has no system whatsoever. This team is badly outcoached all the time.
On the flip side, if the Sabres desire is to finish last they have their man in Nolan. I would just keep him here through this season, bottom out, then get a proven coach in here who employs a professional system and knows how to get the most out of young talent.